Alberta’s home sales activity during the first month of the year might be an indication that the provincial economy is well on its way to recovery, according to the Central Alberta Realtors Association.

In its latest data release, the organization announced that residential sales in the province’s central region went up by 12 per cent on a year-over-year basis, rdnewsNOW reported.

Across Alberta as a whole, home sales increased by almost 18 per cent in the same 12-month period. Total sales activity in the province was valued at $1.03 billion, representing a sharp 21 per cent uptick from January 2016.

In a news release last week, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) announced its forecast of various regional markets’ performances up to the end of next year.

“In the resource-intensive provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador, sales activity is still running at lower levels and supply is elevated. This has resulted in weakened price trends for these provinces,” the association predicted.

“Alberta is forecast to have the largest increase in activity in 2017 (+5%) that still leaves it nearly 10% below the 10-year average,” CREA added. “[However], in provinces where economic and housing market prospects are closely tied to the outlook for oil and other natural resource industries, average prices are showing tentative signs of stabilizing in Alberta.”

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